


A Blur of Black & Blonde

by summertime227



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-11
Updated: 2017-05-11
Packaged: 2018-10-30 18:16:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,210
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10882305
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/summertime227/pseuds/summertime227
Summary: What if Betty had stopped by Pop's after Cheryl's party and bumped into Jughead?





	A Blur of Black & Blonde

**Author's Note:**

> Title notes: I'm into alliteration (sorry not sorry).

Jughead sat in a booth at Pop’s, rubbing his eyes and adjusting his beanie. The neon lights of his favourite diner cast ghost like shadows across his skin, making it seem even more translucent. He had been writing for hours, typing away, only stopping every now and then to take a bite of his burger or a sip of his milkshake, his eyes barely leaving the screen. He was in the middle of writing about Riverdale’s very own Hitchcock blonde when he got distracted by the ding of the bell above the door and a pink blur.

The blonde in question and his childhood friend, Betty Cooper, walked inside and straight to the counter without noticing him. She climbed onto one of the stools and started talking to the diner’s owner, Pop Tate. He couldn’t hear what they were saying, but all of a sudden, Pop was gesturing to him. Betty pushed off from the counter so that the stool spun around and her gaze immediately latched onto his. She smiled sadly at him and hopped off the stool.

Jughead had always tried to assume an air of disinterest and inapproachability at school, but he knew he must have been failing in that moment.

Betty wore a pink dress that matched the blush in her cheeks. The material glowed in the neon lights and it had cut-outs that gave Jughead a peek at the soft skin of her ribs. Her hair, usually pulled back tight in her trademark ponytail, fell over her collarbone in well-tousled waves. Her eyes looked bigger and greener, but they also looked sad. They sparkled with unshed tears. She was breathtaking.

Betty seemed not to notice Jughead’s staring. She just slid into the booth across from him and laid her forehead flat on the table on top of his notes.

He frowned. “Betty, are you OK?”

“Yes...” she mumbled unconvincingly into his notes. She lifted her head quickly, a piece of note paper stuck to her forehead. “Why? Do I not look OK?” Her bottom lip trembled.

He raised his eyebrows and Betty let out a resigned huff. Jughead pulled the piece of paper off her forehead and set it down. “Do you wanna talk about it?”

Betty sighed, mulling over his offer. She felt her fingers twitch and picked at a crack in the red leather seat.

“Archie likes the new girl."

Jughead rolled his eyes. "Archie’s an idiot.”

Betty breathed a surprised-sounding laugh. She sniffled and had this look in her eyes as if to say, _No, he's not_. Although a writer, Jughead was at a loss for words. He was not unaware of Betty’s feelings for his former best friend, but he didn’t know how to make her feel better.

“Well, I hate to say I told you so, but…”

Betty quirked an eyebrow at him, slightly threatening but amused.

“I told you dances were the worst.”

“But the actual _dancing_ isn’t the worst, Juggie – that part's fun!” she whined endearingly.

Jughead scoffed.

At that moment, the song changed to a slow one. Betty looked up to the speakers on the ceiling and her eyes lit up. “I’ll show you.”

The smirk on Jughead’s face disappeared. “What?”

Betty shuffled out of the booth and stood up, smoothing down the front of her dress. She waited for him to join her, but he just shook his head. “I don’t think so…”

“Come on, Jug. No one will know,” she said, gesturing around. And she was right. All the other customers were long gone and Pop had drifted off counting the tips from the day. “Please?” she pleaded, her green eyes hopeful.

He knew it was a bad idea to know what it would feel like to hold her in his arms, but he found he couldn’t say no to her.

He sighed dramatically, standing up and following Betty to a space where there was more room. She twirled around gracefully to face him and walked slowly into his personal space. He swallowed the lump in his throat. She put her hands on his shoulders and looked up at him expectantly. Jughead quickly wiped the sweat off his hands on his jeans and put them on her waist. His thumb brushed against the warm skin exposed by the cut-outs in her dress and he felt her shiver.

“Sorry.”

She just smiled shyly and started swaying, shifting her weight from foot to foot. He did the same. They moved in slow circles and after a little while, Betty, feeling uncharacteristically at ease (and bold), stepped even closer to Jughead. She slid one hand further back to rest at the nape of his neck and moved the other lower on his chest, fisting the fabric of his black sweater. She laid her head on his collarbone. Jughead rested his jaw against the crown of her head. He breathed in Betty's vanilla and jasmine scent and closed his eyes, knowing he would have to push her away soon. He could feel something wet through his sweater and realized Betty was crying. He cringed and pushed her hips back gently.

He cleared his throat. “Come on, I’ll walk you home,” he said, moving back to the booth.

Betty tried to wipe away her tears without him seeing while he shoved his laptop and notes in his bag. He swung the bag over his shoulder and picked up his camera. Betty and Jughead walked toward the entrance, but before they got to the door, Betty nudged him in the side and nodded towards Pop. “Shouldn’t we wake him?” Betty asked quietly.

Jughead lifted his camera and aimed it at Pop. The flash went off and he jerked awake, confused. “Night, Pop!” Jughead yelled, he and Betty halfway through the door, trying not to laugh and failing miserably. Pop shook his head at them and went back to counting the tips.

Betty and Jughead walked towards Betty’s house in silence, her heels clicking on the pavement. Betty and Jughead had always been good at silence. They could sit in a booth at Pop’s, perfectly content to work on separate things, not feeling the need to talk. But, something about this silence felt... different. He almost reached out for her hand but thought better of it.

When they reached Betty's house, they just stood there facing each other for a second. Betty pressed a quick kiss to Jughead’s cheek. She backed up to a more friendship-like distance and pressed her lips together, looking between his eyes and her feet.

“Thanks, Jug.”

He nodded.

She walked away and tried to fight a smile, shaking her head like she was shaking a thought from it. She walked slowly up the steps, opened her front door and turned around to look at him once more before going inside.

Jughead looked at the unlit Cooper house for a moment before he turned around and almost collided with Archie.

“Gaahh… what the hell, Arch?”

Archie just stared behind him. “Is she OK?” he asked quietly.

Jughead clapped him on the back and looked at him for a second like he was trying to figure him out. “You’re an idiot,” he said in an almost gentle tone.

And he walked away, leaving Archie to face their best friend.


End file.
